Saturday, 28 February 2015

A week ago, the Pentagon briefed reporters on the plan to retake Mosul from ISIS in April using mainly Iraqi Army troops, down to the timing of the attack and a rough estimate of the numbers and types of troops needed to accomplish the job. Just seven days later, the Department of Defense pushed off the date until autumn ... if then. A DoD source told The Daily Beast’s Nancy Youssef that, er, they’ve belatedly discovered that Iraqi troops aren’t ready now, and probably won’t be ready for months.

Friday, 27 February 2015

A San Francisco pol is shocked, shocked to learn that the city’s Catholic archbishop intends to behave like a Catholic archbishop on questions including homosexuality and pornography. Kevin Williamson comments:

Catholic sexual teaching, and Archbishop Cordileone’s insistence upon it, annoys a great many people in San Francisco. Among the annoyed is Mark Farrell of the board of supervisors, which is what San Francisco calls its city council. Farrell protests that the sexual conservatism of Archbishop Cordileone and his subordinates—one of whom recently returned to the tradition of having all-male altar servers—is at odds with the local culture, “an affront to the values most of the residents of this city, in good conscience, hold dear.” The Los Angeles Times reports that many San Franciscans find the policy “divisive.” Farrell and the Times are without any question absolutely correct: The city may be named after St. Francis, but all indicators are that most residents of the city hold the moral teachings of St. Francis’s to be an affront to their values.

Which is why we have a First Amendment.

The First Amendment is, like the rest of the Bill of Rights, a blessedly anti-democratic feature of our republic that says, in short: “You idiots don’t get a vote on this.”

Republicans are behind the eight ball on the question of funding the DHS until Obambi withdraws his executive actions on illegals; the DHS has legitimate functions related to our security. But there is absolutely no reason for the Senate to confirm an Attorney General who shares Obambi’s willingness to ignore the Constitution. This is a case where “presidents are entitled to their nominees” and “reasonable people can differ” are nonsensical arguments.

Loretta Lynch cleared a key vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday in her bid to become the nation’s next attorney general, picking up support from three Republicans on the panel in favor of her confirmation.

The vote was 12-8. The three Republicans who backed her nomination, along with all committee Democrats, were Orrin Hatch of Utah, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Jeff Flake of Arizona.

Black families have become one of the fastest-growing demographics in homeschooling, with black students making up an estimated 10 percent of the homeschooling population. They make up 16 percent of public school students, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

And while white homeschooling families traditionally cite religious or moral disagreements with public schools in their decision to homeschool, studies indicate black families are more likely to cite the culture of low expectations for black students or dissatisfaction with how their children—especially boys—are treated in schools.

ISIS has killed four Americans -- in Syria. We’re not exactly talking about another 9/11. Here’s a tip: If you don’t want to be killed by ISIS, don’t go to Syria.

Meanwhile, illegal aliens have killed, raped and maimed thousands of Americans -- in America. If you don’t want to be killed, raped or maimed by illegal immigrants in your own country, I have no tips for you. There’s nothing you can do. You’re on your own. Good luck.